Thursday, April 29, 2010

With 5,000 barrels of oil rushing uncontrollably into the waters a day just off the cost of Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana and our country facing an unprecedented natural disaster is it any wonder that our president is now sending in the top military experts and environmental experts to help in the prevention and clear up of this unfolding environmental disaster.

If the federal government ever needed an example of why “Drill Baby Drill” was a huge mistake from the very start when it comes to our protected seashores all they have to do is watch as this environmental disaster unfolds just off the coast of our own country.

The harm from this oil could last decades and even permanently destroy valuable wildlife and harm valuable wetland areas that would help reduce the impact of golf coast storms to the states that line our Golf Coast seashores. Fishing and Tourism could also be harmed for decades to come.

There should be a swift and thorough investigation as to why this had to happen in the first place. People were killed when that oil platform exploded and sank into the sea. All attempts to close off the leaking of oil into the waters have failed up to now. This just a few weeks after 29 miners were killed in an incident in West Virginia where the company in question had failed to follow basic safety laws and the federal government had failed to provide crucial support that would have enforced safety laws that are already on the books.

Energy corporations in this country have far too much power to influence decisions made in Washington that could have a profound effect on the lives of voters and on the fragile environment in this country. Yet the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that these same corporations should be allowed to spend uncontrollability to protect their own interest at the expense of individual voters in this country. Now is the time for our federal government to look closely at protection agencies that are required to enforce our safety laws when it comes to energy corporations. Clearly energy corporations cannot and will not police themselves when it comes to environmental issues or worker safety.

Monday, April 26, 2010

A new law in Arizona could have a reverse effect on the safety of residents in that state and surrounding states. The Governor of Arizona signed into law a bill over the weekend that would allow police to ask individuals to show legal paperwork to prove that they are here in the United States legally.

Hispanic individual fear that even if born in this country they could be detained for not having paperwork which most Americans don’t even think about caring on their self if say they are just out for a walk on a nice spring day.

The new law would unfairly direct attention toward Hispanic looking individuals since I don’t think that people with southern accents and blonde hair are going to be asked if they are American born.

The Arizona Governor has said that she will not permit racial profiling but it is hard to see how she will be able to prevent it unless everyone is required at all times to carry and produce legal documents that prove they are American born. The Arizona Governor clearly fears increased border violence and is in a misguided way attempting to solve the problem that has plagued Border States for some time.

The problem with this law is that it may turn victims into outlaws who are unable or fearful of reporting crimes due to their own legal status in this country. That makes 460,000 individuals outlaws who can no longer report crimes in the state of Arizona. They must also fear their neighbors who can now report them to the police and request that their status be proved just because of their ethnic background.

Landlords and business owners are now free to take advantage of these individuals since the only one harmed if reported will be the one without legal paperwork.

The economic picture is also not a pretty one for Arizona since now those individuals who can afford it will be encourage to leave Arizona most likely to nearby states to feel safe so they will take their taxpayers dollars with them and spend it in other states.

Arizona has in effect posted a whites only sign on itself and made clear that any person of color is not welcome in their state. This is truly a step backward for civil rights and will draw a great deal of attention to the people that feel this is the way of the future.

Arizona should be working on ways to make people legal and not on ways to drive them out of the state. They should be providing teams of lawyers that could help people for free to get their citizenship paperwork instead of deporting those individuals.

Arizona should like New Mexico embrace its Hispanic culture and find new ways to help secure it borders without making victims of people who are only searching for a better life. Let us all hope or pray that the governor of Arizona sees the error of her way soon and rethinks what is best for her state and her neighbor states on this issue.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

My birth state of West Virginia has lost 29 miners that were mourned today by that state in what President Obama called pursuit of the American Dream. My father who worked in the coal mines of southern West Virginia for 35 years of his life so he could managed to achieve that dream for his children by making bloody sure that we got a good education that would keep us out of and far away from the coal mines.

Coal cannot be the future of clean energy in this country if those miners’ families ever hope to achieve the American Dream. Mining will only lead to more nightmare lives and deaths if we make coal a major source of energy in this country.

The environmental damage done by hilltop removal mining of coal is too high a price for our country to pay for cheap energy. The lives it takes because of the failure of the federal government to correctly oversee safety in those mines is just too much to ask of the families in that part of our country.

This is one area where President Obama has completely failed to see what is good for our country. He should be working hard to find ways to encourage clean safe energy that does not cost us the environment and the lives of low income individuals. This is his fault for backing big coal companies and blocking mine safety laws that should have been pasted when he first took the oval office all in the name of energy independents.

I don’t even begin to understand how he can face the families of those miners today. What can he possible do or say other than to close that coal company down for good that would even begin to make up for his administration’s failure to protect their men’s lives in the first place.

Friday, April 23, 2010

What is wrong with paying students to do a good job in school? Since when has any full grown individual ever worked for free or just the reward of a job well done in this country? That would have been in the 1800’s and they called it slavery. Ok also maybe they call that type of job being a teacher in this country.

Students in a Eubank Elementary School asked Superintendent Brooks why not pay them for good grades. So why not pay students for good grades in this state? Base their pay not on classroom grades but on progress toward meeting standard set by the national averages. Give them a real reason to demand that their teachers provide them the skills they need to improve their scores on those exams.

We want our kids to do well in school so they will be prepared for the real business world which bases pay rates on your level of skills. Since when have you ever heard your boss say, “aw just do it for the personal reward?” Let’s ask Brooks to be superintendent for just the personal reward of doing a good job.

Brooks thinks this is a bad idea because it would be a bribe but is that not what a paycheck and bonuses are in the first place. We live in a country that operates on the idea of capitalism which says you get paid for the quality of your work. How is this a bad lesson to teach our children in the first place? Smart people ask for and ever sometimes demand to be paid a higher wage or a bonus for achieving above the norm when it comes to work.

Brooks is right that our state cannot afford to pay the $2.25 million to encourage students to do well so this is where the school system should reach out to local businesses and well off individuals in our communities to raise funds to be able to provide such a bonus program in the first place. Get local business leaders interested in encouraging our young people to work for a real world reward for a job well done. Limit the funds so that not every kid gets the bonus but those that have the most improvement on their scores are the ones that get the reward.

Brooks should be the cheerleader for such programs that teach our children that they are valued and that a job well done is worth a good paycheck or a bonus at the end of the day. Why is this man still superintendent of our children’s school system?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Some conservatives in New Mexico want to throw them in a jail cell and then throw away the key forever as a way to make voters safer but is that honestly the only answer a civilized society can come up with now a day?

For far too long in the legislature State Senators like Cisco McSorly has pleaded for more treatment beds for drug abusers and alcoholic inmates. The conservatives in the state senate have always turned a deaf ear to such ideas and now the voting public is being made to pay the price for their callous attitude toward effective public safety measures.

Public safety director Darren White is calling it the revolving jailhouse door as he blames it all on our local hardworking judges but in honesty the judges in this state are bound by the rule of law and are limited on what they can do to help put an end to repeat offenders. They don’t have the resources to force offenders to be committed to effective treatment facilities that do not even exist in the first place thanks to conservatives.

As for throwing property crime criminal in a cell we only have a limited number of jail cells in this state so which would you rather see in them either a common criminal, such as thief or maybe a drug abuser or someone who enjoys killing innocent voters just to see the fear in their eyes as they die?

As the wise and thoughtful Chief Justice Charles Daniels, who sits on the state supreme court, has said unless more funds are spent this problem will not soon come to an end and the most outspoken individuals on this issue are the same ones that have for years fought providing more funding for the court systems and treatment programs in this state. Still he is calling all the interested parties together to try and do as much as he can with limited funding and resources which again was the result of a conservative controlled state senate not being willing to think ahead what the results of their behavior would be on the voting public’s safety.

If anyone should be removed from office in Santa Fe it should be the conservatives in the state senate who have for years blocked effective public safety measures in the name of keeping taxes low on the richest individuals in this state.

Monday, April 19, 2010

“A man’s home is his Castle,” that saying just puts any woman’s nerves on edge for the very get go. Our state has the second highest rate of rape in the country. Our governor has worked years to deal with an unacceptable ranking when it comes to domestic violence in this state. Too often you hear men who appear civilized say that a woman should just accept rape as a fact of life in our state. "Just lay back and enjoy it." Yet our state laws say that you must us equal force for protection even if the intruder is 30 years younger then you and high on drugs as they break into your home with sleeping children to take your personal property then rape and murder you and your children.

I am told that a law that would allow women to use lethal force to protect themselves in such cases and their children from an intruder would be unconstitutional. In other words fist against fist even if you are the weaker individual.

Well my answer to that is simple. A gun, an iron skillet, a few long knifes as wall décor, a baseball bat and oh by the way a good defense lawyer’s numbers on speed dial. I was once given a very good piece of advice by a judge when he told me that the legal system was not there to protect you and that no judge could ever prevent a crime from happening. In this state you must become the criminal before the law will protect you. The thing homeowners need to understand is that if they protect themselves then they will face the legal system and should have the advice of council before they willingly answer any questions put to them by law enforcement in this state.

If enough criminals die at the hands of homeowners who are protecting themselves and their families then maybe they will think twice about braking into someone’s home. I know this does not make judges happy to hear but the general public has a right to protect themselves when law enforcement fails them so completely. I would be the last to use lethal force unless my life or my child’s life was in danger but if pushed any mother in this state has the right to defend her castle. That is my two cents on the subject.

Oh, ladies one other thing my self defense instructor had one piece of advice for me that was use anything at hand to disable an attacker. Always have your keys ready as a weapon if attacked or nail file or shoe heal to the knee or even a little higher. Just another good reason to have that three inch pair of killer heals that makes your legs look great.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Thursday, April 15, 2010

· Cash in the bank: $1,044,741.92· Amount of money raised: $300,233.83· Percentage of contributions that are from New Mexicans: 87· Percentage of contributions that are from individuals: 95· Total number of contributions: 1,222· Average contribution amount total: $246· Average contribution amount from individuals: $181.85· Percentage of contributions that were under $100: 69

Voters in the First Congressional District send a strong message that they like their congressman and the Republican Party should just throw in the towel when it comes to that congressional seat.

Clearly Martin Heinrich has the support of grassroots voters and he even appeals to moderate voters.

Over the past year he has proven to be a strong supporter for items that will be beneficial to residents of the first congressional district. He has also been a strong supporter for our troops even when it caused him to take heat from the far left side of our party. For our congressman it is all about his district and what is good for our country. He is a strong family man who cares about the walfare of our children.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

With the unemployment rate reaching close to 9% in the state of New Mexico voters are looking for candidates who are serious when it comes to supporting the owners of small businesses. Small businesses are the engine when it comes to job creation in this state and around the country.

Candidates are now looking to discussions with current small business owners to find ways in which to encourage growth and find ways to encourage future small business development in the state. Grassroots will become an important issue and an avenue for small business leaders to get their concerns heard by future local government leaders.

It is beginning to dawn on individuals that the combination of education which will provide a trained workforce and small business development are the future methods to develop strong economic growth and therefore job growth in this state. Now is the time for small business owners to speak up and let their voices be heard by democratic candidates who will be leading our state for the next four years.

Republicans in this state have always been friends of large corporations and have never work well with small business owners at times even sacrificing home grown companies in order to protect large corporate interest. For the Republican Party it has always been about the high dollar donations that would buy them network air time in order to get elected.

With the current recession hitting this state harder then any past recession now is the time to grow small business and education so as to provide a strong economic base for future job growth.

Monday, April 12, 2010

There are days that I think the local news loves to stir up things when it comes to public safety. With the new director of public safety being a republican they have all the help they need to start a blame game between our local judges and local law enforcement because our state has the second highest crime ranking in the country.

The real question is not who is to blame because that question will get us nowhere fast and actually be harmful when it comes to improving public safety in this city. The real question is what can the police, district attorney’s office, local communities, and the courts do working as a team to bring our national ranking down?

Public safety has to start with the police working with local communities to solve crimes and bring good information to the district attorney’s office to make solid cases against repeat offenders. The district attorney’s office must provide judges with the facts that clearly prove their cases while working with victims to show impact of serious crimes to the court. The state legislature must give judges the resources to make sure that judges have the needed time to deal with repeat offenders and also the laws that would allow them to put individuals behind bars that pose a threat to public safety.

State legislators should also understand that services like drug treatment and mental health treatment for the homeless have a direct impact on our crime rankings in this state. When your mother once told you that an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure they were not wrong when it comes to drug crimes and the mentally ill.

If we can provide good jobs in the future for our citizens and provide them with social skills that enable them to work within a peaceful community then our crime ranking will drop. People are not born bad but are socialized to learn crime is their only way of dealing with life issues. When young women can stand before a judge and ask that a violent abuse boyfriend be set free so they can continue the relationships then we as a community have failed to socialize those young women to value themselves and their partners.

When local police officers blame the court system for not keeping repeat offenders off the street and show little to no respect for our court system when speaking to the public then we teach the public that the only way to protect themselves and their property is to resort to violent behavior therefore only encouraging more violent behavior in the future.

This blame game must be stopped if we are to start to bring our crime ranking down. Community policing where you know the local law enforcement and feel like they are part of the community should be encouraged in our city. New technology that keeps the public informed about criminal activity should be acquired and promoted. Strong support and funding of prevention programs that work and face regular reviews should be done at the state and local levels.

Well funded court systems that can clear cases quickly should be supported so that no criminal who poses a threat to our communities is set free on bond for long periods of time. New technologies that can provide all law enforcement agencies with up to date information on individuals brought into the system more than once should be used. These New technologies should be used to track individuals so that preventive measures can take place before it becomes an issue of life or death for an innocent bystander.

Public Safety should be a team effort and can only be improved through different agencies working in conjunction with local communities to promote respect and a peaceful productive life style.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The U.S. Supreme Court is a group of appointed justices that has a conservative controlling majority that is far right in nature. They rule in favor of big business all of the time. They rule in favor of allowing big business to buy our elections. They rule against women when it comes to equal rights and equal pay. They rule against unions and the protection of worker’s rights.

They get life time appointments and we have no say or control over how they rule on cases like freedom of choice when it comes to our own personal reproductive rights. They rule in favor of allowing our government to put people in prison without a trial all of the time. As a Democrat I have a serious dislike for life time appointments to our court system either state or federal. Lifetime appointments for justices have by far not put an end to political issues on the Supreme Court system but have had the reverse effect.

I am sure republican controlled news papers like the journal will support any appeals court candidate that wants this type of system for our state courts. The Republican Party in this state would love nothing more than to be able to appoint for life conservative judges that would rule in their favor all of the time. They would not need as many on the courts to control our court system and they would not have to spend money to get the same results. The voting public would be unaware of the change until it was far too late.

I personally cannot see myself voting for any candidate that would support such a court system in our state even if that candidate’s opponent does have questionable ethics. This issue is far too important for the voting public to accept the lesser of two evils.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Well is that just not special? Darren White has not even been safety director in Albuquerque for more than six months and our state is already the second most dangerous state in the union but then again give the man credit where credit is due after all how long was he a failure as our Bernalillo County Sheriff.

It was just pointed out today that for the longest time the republicans have had control of the police forces in this state and just look what a great and wonderful job they are doing. Time for a Democratic Sheriff if you ask me unless you want to see our state make the top of that list next time it is released.

I was driving back from the Westside today and saw about 20 police cars and bikes on Coors just north of the I-40 interstate exchange. It turned out that a bank robber had hit and killed two women while trying to flee police after holding up a bank. That particle road has seen a lot of activity by police but yet the mayor has not improved the safety of residents in that area of the city as of late.

Now the mayor of our fair city is more worried about robbery which is the only area where crime might just be looking up but he has not said a word about Assaults, Burglary, or Murder. The Mayor was the victim of an auto thief during the election yet he has not done anything to put a dent in Motor Vehicle Theft in this state as of yet. Maybe he is too busy attacking the police and firefighting unions to be bothered with such mundane issues as public safety.

Rape tops the list with our state coming in at number 2 so where is the attempt to keep women in this state safe from harm? Why are they doing everything in their power to protect criminals by forbidding the release of information that would only protect women and provide them with much needed information about possible offenders? Why is it property crime offenders and not sex offender’s pictures we see on electric billboards around the city.

Again if we want these rankings to change than it is far past time to change who is in charge of our police forces in this state and we can start with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s department this coming fall.

Monday, April 5, 2010

The Public Regulation Commission (PRC) on a 4-1 vote approved a PNM rate increase that went into effect April 1, 2010. Commissioner Jason Marks was the lone vote in opposition to the rate increase. The rate hike would impact residential users only.

While all of the other public regulation commissioners voted to increase rates on low income and middle class families in this state Commissioner Marks stood his ground and voted to protect the voting public. We here in Bernalillo County are lucky to have a commissioner who is open, honest, and works hard for the public.

Commissioner Marks has always been willing to speak to voters and listens careful with a keen interest in protecting the voters while being fair to the utilities. There has never even been a hint of scandal when it comes to our public regulation commissioner. We could use another 4 other individuals with his talents and honesty on that board in the near future.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

After reading some comments from individuals made lately I felt the need to contact Brian Colon’s Campaign to ask if they were somehow engaged in a push poll or if there was some kind of misunderstanding. Dan’s official response was that the Colon Crew does not now nor will it ever conduct a push poll on any candidate. I believe them because Brian Colon is a personal friend and I know he is not the kind of person who would allow such behavior or disrespect another candidate in that manner.

I would hope that all of our candidates will play nice and work hard on getting their positive message out to the voters. What matters the most to democrats in this state are the issues and boy do we have issues. Let’s just put it out there Diane Denish will need a lot of support for a good lieutenant governor over the next four years.

Things that should be covered by all of the candidates are:

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Education

Small Businesses

Mental Health

Veterans

Homelessness

Public Safety

Environment

These issues are interlinked and affect every single New Mexican. With the budget being so tight for the next few years we want and I have told this to all of the campaigns to hear what their visions are on how to solve these very important problems.

The last thing we need is to hear candidates attacking each other at the expense of the voting public or for that matter the party. So my advice for all the candidates is play nice or pickup your toys and goes home guys that mean not taking unfair advantage of any candidate.

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"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."

The O'Coilean (O'Collins)

'A great host with whom it is not fortunate to contend, the battle-trooped host of the O'Coileain."Abraham Lincoln

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."From NPR Radio"Rosa sat so Martin could walk.Martin walked so Obama could run.Obama ran so our children can fly!"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Albert Einstein

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."Will Rogers"I don't belong to an organized party--I'm a democrat."President John F. Kennedy, Democrat“If by a ‘liberal’ they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people—their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties—someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a ‘Liberal,’ then I’m proud to say I’m a ‘Liberal.’”Martin Luther King Jr.

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Lora O'Brien

"All I can do is share one person's experiences on her own path, not tell you how to walk yours. If a guru is what you are looking for, find another! If I am a teacher, it is because I am already walking the path that you, Dear Reader, may wish to be on. Although each of us must make our own way, I can put up signs at least, and make the way slightly less hazardous for those who wish to walk a similar path."

C. S. Lewis

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A Female Democrat

1/1/10 A new year and a number of future elections to cover. The budget will be a major issue this year and we must work hard to protect the core values of our party.